Media Release 15 October 2003

Rupert Murdoch and Toxic Television

Rupert Murdoch had to handle a number of curly questions during the Annual General Meeting of his global media giant News Corporation, held in Adelaide today. The Hyatt Regency Ballroom, across the road from where Mr Murdoch began building his media empire 50 years ago, was packed to standing room only, with over 600 shareholders and media representatives.

The first question after completion of the main business was asked by shareholder Mrs Roslyn Phillips - perhaps better known as the research officer of Festival of Light Australia.

Mrs Phillips thanked Mr Murdoch for his strong stand against poker machines some years ago, after they were introduced in South Australia and proved to be such a social disaster.

"Today I want to draw your attention to another social disaster," she said. "Cable television came to the Himalayan nation of Bhutan just four years ago, in 1999 - courtesy of News Corporation.

"Since that time, this small peaceful nation has experienced its very first crime wave - murder, violent theft and fraud - on a scale never seen before in its history. School principals in Bhutan are deeply concerned about the impact of cable TV on their students' attitudes and morals.

"Does News Corporation have any plans to help Bhutan (and indeed, other nations) recover from this moral environmental disaster - for example by vetting the content of Star Television's more anti-social programs?"

Rupert Murdoch replied that he would have been much happier if Mrs Phillips had stuck to poker machines, which he knew something about.

He confessed he knew very little about the role of Star Plus in Bhutan, or what language they broadcast there. "I just don't know," he said.

However Mr Murdoch said that the problem may be due to a music channel or some other non-Star channel. "If there were a problem with our channels, we would have heard about it before now from the Chinese Government," he said.

Mrs Phillips told the meeting that an in-depth article on the devastating effect of the introduction of television in Bhutan appeared in The Guardian (UK) on 14 June this year. Rupert Murdoch laughed, suggesting that any report from The Guardian would be biased against him.

Not surprisingly, the multitude of TV and other journalists at the meeting were not interested in following up Mrs Phillips' Bhutan question. However some shareholders after the meeting congratulated her.

One woman said: "I think there was considerable sympathy for what you were saying. I think the problem is much wider than Bhutan or News Corporation. Television is destroying the values and culture of a generation, all over the world."

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Mrs Roslyn Phillips, B Sc Dip Ed Research Officer, Festival of Light Australia 4th Floor, 68 Grenfell Street, Adelaide SA 5000